


Where He Belongs

by TheDoctorIsIcecube



Series: A School (A Home) [1]
Category: Class (TV 2016), Doctor Who, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Autistic Charlie, Developing Friendships, Gen, Hogwarts First Year, Inter-House Friendships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-29
Updated: 2016-11-29
Packaged: 2018-09-03 03:05:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8693938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDoctorIsIcecube/pseuds/TheDoctorIsIcecube
Summary: Matteusz always knew he was strange, but magic was a surprise. Witches and wizards were a surprise. And Hogwarts was a huge surprise, an adventure, and the beginning of everything.





	

Matteusz first knew that there was something odd about himself around the age of eight. His parents, three years later, would argue that they'd known he was abnormal his entire life. And if the weird things that he recalled had really been happening since he was born, he couldn't blame them for thinking him strange.

When he was eight, someone was teasing him because of his bad English and told him to go back to his own country. He'd been so angry, he hated being told to go back to a place where his parents were so sad all the time, so he'd punched the boy and the boy had flown all the way across the playground. At least ten people had seen it, but none of the teachers had believed them- after all, it was ridiculous. A person who could do that would either need superhuman strength or some sort of magical power, and neither of those things were possible.

Nothing came of it, but they told him that if he had punched the boy, he would have been sent home and may not have even been allowed to come back. That scared him too much for him to ever do something like that again. He hated being with people at school, but he knew school was absolutely necessary. Without it, he'd be stuck at home with his parents all day, and that wasn't exactly a great outcome, either.

Matteusz loved his parents. He loved them a lot, but as he got older he realised that maybe they didn't love him, they just loved their little Matti who was very good all the time. And he couldn't be that person, honestly. By the time he was ten, he was thoroughly sick of being that person. And weird things kept on happening around him. Things kept jumping up and down around him, things that weren't meant to do that. When the vicar started talking about something Matteusz didn't agree with, his microphone flew out of the stand. When the man continued, the candles all started moving up and down. That had absolutely terrified the people in church. It had been just a little bit funny, honestly, but also rather scary. Because he had a sinking feeling that somehow he was the one causing these odd occurrences.

These things happened around him a lot. When people shouted at him in PE, the grass on the field uprooted itself very quickly. When he was reading a book and his mother took it from him to read a part, the book completely changed what it looked like to hide that it had violent themes. It was all confusing and scary and he hated it. He couldn't tell anyone about it in case they thought he was lying.

And then, when he was eleven, things got a lot worse. For one thing, a letter arrived.

It was written on beautiful paper and the envelope had green ink, and it was delivered by a woman instead of posted through the door like a normal letter. Her name was Professor Wright, she said, and she taught History. History of Magic. Matteusz assumed she was joking at first. Who wouldn't? The idea seemed too ludicrous to be real.

But then she spoke to him. She talked about the truth, about wizards and witches and magic. She talked about where they went to school. A school called Hogwarts, where every wizard, regardless of their background, was allowed to study.

And then his parents came to the door, and they didn't like what they were hearing at all. Matteusz wasn't surprised by this. He knew that his parents hated anything that was different. He knew they hated it when he strayed from what was normal. He knew they hated it, he knew it, but when Professor Wright had been talking he hadn't minded all that much. It was just so wonderful and it made so much sense, and then his parents came to the door. They were, predictably, not happy. They shouted at him, a lot, and tried to drag him back away from the door.

But then something strange happened. The professor said some words and pointed her stick and his parents stopped. They fell on the floor, which looked painful. Matteusz didn't want to laugh, but he almost did. They clearly weren't dead, because their eyes were still moving. They'd just...stopped. Part of him wondered if it was permanent, and part of him didn't care.

"Do you want to go and get your coat and shoes?" The woman asked, and she smiled at him for the first time since his parents got there. "I'll just move your parents somewhere more comfortable."

"What did you do to them?" Curious as he was, he obediently went to go and put his shoes on. "Will they unfreeze?"

"Of course," she said. "Merlin forbid they would be stuck like that! They'll come round about your magic, Matteusz. Don't worry."

"I wasn't worried. I don't even care," he admitted, shrugging on his coat. "Where are we going?" Part of him felt like he should be panicking right now, but he wasn't. Not at all.

"Well, if you open your letter, you can find out," she said, and she once again tried to hand him the letter that was so beautifully written with the green ink. He took it, scanning the page. There was another sheet of paper tucked behind it- this one seemed to contain an equipment list of some sort.

The whole thing filled him with so much excitement. He couldn't believe that this was all so real. It made so much sense. All the strange things, all the time he felt isolated, it wasn't just him being strange in a bad way. It was him being a person he'd never even heard of before today. "I still not sure where we are going," he pointed out. Were they going to this Hogwarts place already? Or somewhere else?

"We're going to get everything on that list," she said. "You're on our register for financial help, so it might be a bit tight with getting everything, but I'll do my best."

"Okay..." He wasn't sure how this place had managed to get hold of his family's financial records, but he wouldn't question it. Magic existed.

"Almost half of the muggle born students in the school are on this register," she said. "And some children born into magical families, too. The school chose to invest into that area recently so we could cover more students." Matteusz didn't really understand most of what this woman was going on about, but he just nodded along with her. That seemed like a good strategy.

"Not on this list is An Introduction to the Wizarding World," Professor Wright said. "I'm not sure the budget will cover that, but I think it is vital for you and for your parents."

"My parents will not want any introduction to the wizarding world," Matteusz said darkly. "They will not want me back in the house, I expect."

Professor Wright looked over at where she'd put his parents to sit on the sofa and frowned. "I'll come back with you and explain to them," she said. "Accommodation can be arranged if they do not understand."

"They never understand," he said glumly. "Where would I stay if they will not let me back here?"

"I'll help you find somewhere," she said, and there was a fierce quality to her voice that just made Matteusz believe her. "Come along, we're going on a little walk in London."

"Okay..." Matteusz took one last look at his parents, and then followed her out of the door. "How long will they stay frozen?"

"Only a few more minutes," she said. "Long enough that they won't be able to follow us or be able to set the police on us."

"Will I be able to do that to people?" He grinned, suddenly rather excited by the prospect of magic if it meant having abilities like that.

"One day, but I hope you never have to," Professor Wright said with a smile. Matteusz thought that was kind of silly, because obviously he'd want to do that to loads of annoying people, but he didn't say anything.

"Where exactly are we going?" He wouldn't claim to be an expert, but Matteusz couldn't think of any shops in London that sold wands.

"There's a magical street in London," she said. "Muggles can't get there. Unless guided by someone who knows where it is, so it's hidden and full of everything magical students could ever need to buy, or near enough."

"I see..." He followed close behind this woman, trying to memorise the maze of streets that they walked down. London was so big. He'd lived here for three years now, but he never got used to how large everything was. His town from home was very, very small and everyone knew everyone. In ways, that was good, but Matteusz loved how busy the people of London were. Everyone had a purpose and no one was prying. At home in Poland, people knew the moment he'd done something wrong and there would be disapproving looks in tone for days. Here, the only people giving you disapproving looks were those who got irritated by your slow walking speed.

"Here, Matteusz," Professor Wright said, stopping him after a few more minutes of walking. "Focus your eyes in front of you here. Can you see the entrance? It's called the Leaky Cauldron."

For a moment, he had no idea what she was on about. But then he blinked, and he was standing in front of a busy inn, having no idea how he'd not noticed that before. "I see it."

"Good," she said. "Through there is your first entrance to the wizarding world. It is, to put it in a clichéd term, a magical moment."

Matteusz had to laugh at that. This was all so bizarre...next thing he knew, he'd be seeing talking black cats like in all those films about witches. Those were things he could imagine, things he'd seen before, but the reality was so different and so much more real. Wizards looked so strange, he decided as soon as he walked into what could only be described as a dingy pub. A dingy pub from about 200 years ago, though. And the occupants were mostly wearing robes, and odd pointed hats like witches in books. He hadn't realised they'd actually be wearing witch clothes. Next he'd learn that they rode broomsticks all the time and their wands were made of tree branches.

Matteusz tapped Professor Wright on the arm, clearing his throat to get her attention. "Do you ride broomsticks?" He really wasn't sure that was something he wanted to participate in if they did- he was not fond of heights.

"Yes," she said with a laugh, and then she looked at his face and stopped laughing. He obviously looked terrified. "Riding a broomstick isn't necessary to be a wizard, don't worry."

"Good." Just the thought of being high in the air with only a thin magical stick keeping him supported made his stomach turn.

"Come on," she said with another smile. "It's time for you to see the shops and then we can get your equipment."

**Author's Note:**

> A comment is always appreciated :) it provides very good motivation.


End file.
